"You’ve seen so many beautiful sights, you’ve seen so many beautiful women, you’ve lost yourself in every fleeting moment on the map..." The store was usually empty around lunchtime, so Sun Qian took the opportunity to pull out her guitar and start practicing again.

Before, this would have been fine. Usually, when she practiced, Sylvie, Shen Yibin, and Hah’Er would listen quietly off to the side. Cheeky might sing along for a few lines, and while the scene was lively, it never felt noisy.

But today was different. The store now had Egg, the little goofball. The moment he heard the music, he couldn’t help but start slapping his belly and dancing to the rhythm of the guitar. And you had to admit, the little guy really had a talent for dancing. Even though it was his first time hearing the song, he could freely adjust his movements to the melody, gradually falling into perfect sync with Sun Qian’s playing.

Hah’Er, that big doofus, naturally wasn’t going to miss a good opportunity to join the fun. He waddled over to Egg’s side and started dancing along, mimicking his moves.

Shen Yibin subconsciously glanced down at their feet. Thankfully, it was a tiled concrete floor, and they were on the first floor. He didn’t have to worry about them collapsing the floorboards or disturbing the people downstairs.

"Alright, take a break. Time to get ready for lunch. I’m making salt and pepper snake for you guys today." ’Damn it, if you dare collapse this new bed, tomorrow we’re upgrading the menu to Dragon-Tiger stew.’

After struggling to haul the large rosewood bed up to the second floor and setting it up with the three girls, he tossed the collapsed old bed into the storage room. Then, Shen Yibin got busy in the kitchen, and before long, the salt and pepper snake segments and a few vegetable side dishes were ready.

Shen Yibin’s cooking skills were getting better and better. Sylvie had been a little hesitant when she first heard it was snake meat, but after her first bite, she completely forgot her princessly decorum and started fighting over the food with Shen Yibin and the others.

But no matter how fast Sylvie was, she was no match for Egg. Before she could even grab a couple of chopsticks’ worth, Egg’s food bowl was empty. Shen Yibin had no choice but to refill it to the brim.

By the time everyone else was full, Egg and Hah’Er were still happily clutching their bowls and stuffing their faces. The others couldn’t be bothered to move, so they just sat at the table chatting and waiting for the two to finish. Suddenly, Shen Yibin thought of a joke about raccoon cats and couldn’t help but laugh.

"Bin, what are you laughing at?" Bai Yanni asked curiously. Sun Qian and Sylvie also turned to look at him.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought of a historical tale," Shen Yibin replied, suppressing a laugh. "You’ve all heard the story of the ’Raccoon Cat for a Prince,’ right?"

Sun Qian and Bai Yanni nodded at the same time, but Sylvie shook her head. Shen Yibin first gave her a quick rundown of the "Raccoon Cat for a Prince" story, then continued, "So, what if the raccoon cat in that story was *this* little guy? And what if Emperor Zhenzong of Song was truly in love with Consort Li? Maybe they would have raised the Raccoon Cat and let it inherit the throne and become emperor."

"And then China would be ruled by a Raccoon Cat," Shen Yibin continued. "Because raccoon cats love to eat snakes, the territory of the Great Song would expand southwards into the tropical regions teeming with snakes and insects, conquering nations like Dali and Jiaozhi. At the same time, raccoon cats also love to eat fish, shrimp, and crabs, so the Great Song would have to assemble a fleet of ocean-faring ships to catch fish and shrimp for His Majesty the Emperor."

"As the fleet sailed farther, they would reach Southeast Asia, the Americas, and Australia. The Age of Discovery would have nothing to do with Columbus or Magellan. During their voyages, the Great Song’s fleet would also encounter merchants from West Asia and Europe, and they would be astonished to find that the ordinary goods on their ships could be sold for a high price to these merchants."

"Thus, maritime trade would develop immensely. The merchants of the Great Song would flock to build new fleets, carrying the Great Song’s silk, tea, and porcelain to West Asia and Europe to trade, reaping huge profits. At the same time, to fend off pirates along the way, the Great Song would certainly have to develop a powerful navy to protect the fish and shrimp offerings for His Majesty, as well as the merchants’ cargo."

"For naval warfare, you naturally need to develop long-range offensive weapons. Given that the Tuhuochong already appeared during the Song Dynasty, we have reason to believe the Great Song’s navy might have invented cannons, muskets, and other such weapons. In that case, the Great Song’s military power would be greatly enhanced. The cavalry of the Khitan people, the Jurchen people, or even the Mongolians would all fall before the cannons and firearms of the Great Song."

"The Great Song would eventually defeat the nomadic peoples of the north on land and circumnavigate the globe by sea, seizing every fishing ground in the world for their emperor. The Great Song would become the most powerful empire in the world."

"Sigh... why wasn’t Emperor Zhenzong of Song willing to accept the Raccoon Cat as his crown prince back then? If he had, would it be the Americans’ turn to be the world’s superpower now?" Shen Yibin said, looking at Egg, who was still stuffing his face. He spoke with an air of great seriousness, his tone even laced with a hint of profound sorrow at the end.

Bai Yanni, Sun Qian, and Sylvie were completely dumbfounded. They looked from Shen Yibin to Egg, utterly unable to picture the little guy dressed in imperial yellow robes, sitting high on the throne. If this goofball became emperor, he’d probably slap his belly and dance right in the middle of the imperial court, wouldn’t he?

If that really happened, how would Bao Zheng and the Yang Family Generals in the imperial court even react? The mental image was too wonderful to imagine... or maybe too terrible? Oh, but perhaps Zhan Zhao would get a big promotion. After all, his nickname also has the word ’cat’ in it. Maybe he’d win the favor of His Majesty, the Raccoon Cat, because of it.

"Huh?" Egg had finally finished his meal. He lifted his head and looked at the four of them. ’Why are you all staring at me?’

"AHAHAHAHA!" Bai Yanni was the first to burst out laughing. Soon, Sun Qian and Sylvie were also laughing so hard they couldn’t stand up straight, leaving Hah’Er and Egg looking completely bewildered, with no idea what was going on.

"Oh my god, Bin, your imagination is seriously out of control," Bai Yanni said after a long while, once she’d finally recovered. She wiped a tear from her eye and patted Shen Yibin’s shoulder.

"I think you could be a screenwriter in Hollywood," Sylvie chimed in. "If you wrote a script like that, I bet Disney would be interested. When the time comes, I could even use the royal fund to invest in it. As for the lead role... well, Egg can just play himself."

"I can write the theme song," Sun Qian added, joining in the rare joke. "For the melody, I’ll just use the one Egg played by slapping his belly when he was dancing last night."

After the laughter died down, everyone started clearing the table and getting ready for the afternoon’s business. Shen Yibin sat on the sofa, watching Egg lazing around in front of Hah’Er. ’Being this little guy’s owner is not going to be easy,’ he thought. ’If he puts on a show like this every night, who could possibly keep up?’